Ramallah, The Indonesia Post – More than 130 Palestinian protesters were injured Friday during clashes with Israeli troops in the northern West Bank, medics and witnesses said.
Palestinian witnesses said the fierce clashes took place near the villages of Beita and Beit Dajan, which are located to the south and east of Nablus City, respectively, and near the village of Kafr Qaddum, east of the town of Qaqilya.
In a statement sent to Xinhua, the Palestinian Red Crescent said at least 128 Palestinian protesters were injured, including 36 who were injured by rubber bullets fired by Israeli soldiers.
Other victims suffered injuries from inhaling tear gas, the medics added.
Meanwhile, Murad Ishteiwi, coordinator of the Palestinian resistance movement in Qalqilya, told Xinhua that two other protesters were injured by rubber bullets during clashes with Israeli soldiers in Kafr Qaddum village.
Witnesses said dozens of protesters against settlement construction threw stones at Israeli soldiers stationed on the outskirts of the village and set fire to tires.
Israeli authorities have not commented on the incident.
Demonstrations against Israeli settlement expansion in Beita and Beit Dajan and clashes with Israeli soldiers occur in the two villages at least once a week.
On Friday morning local time, four Palestinians, including three children, were injured after an Israeli settler opened fire on them near an Israeli settlement in the old city of Hebron in the southern West Bank, according to medics and witnesses.
The city is marked by clashes that occur every Friday in protests against Israel’s settlement policies and the closure of large areas of the city center to Palestinians.
Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are claimed by the Palestinians, in the 1967 Middle East war and has since controlled both territories. (mhn/bbs)
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